scherbinski



Feb. 14, 1956 F. P. SCHERBINSKI 2,734,373

LOCK MECHANISM FOR A LATCH Filed Jan. 28, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheefll J3 flyi-12m F/oyo PScherb/nsk/ Af/omey 1956 F. P, SCHERBINSKI 2,734,373

LOCK MECHANISM FOR A LATCH 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Jan. 28, 1953 Flay/0"PScAe/ b/hsk/ Affom United States Patent.

LOCK MECHANISM FOR A LATCH Floyd P. Scherbinski, Grand Rapids, Mich.,assignor to Crampton Manufacturing Company, a corporation of MichiganApplication January 28, 1953, Serial No. 333,745 2 Claims. (Cl. 70-13)The present invention provides a key-operated locking mechanism toprevent the opening of a conventional latch. The preferred form of thismechanism was developed for use in conjunction with the latch systemfrequently installed on deep-freeze units, the latch itself including amember usually pivotally mounted on the cover of the freezer. Thepivoting movement is sufiicient to move a bolt to and from engagementwith a keeper secured to the body portion of the container. In the usualinstallation, the pivotal mounting of the bolt causes a movement at thekeeper in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of thecontainer on which the keeper is mounted. The popularity of this type oflatch is quite probably due, at least in part, to the fact that thehandle associated with the bolt becomes a very conventient point againstwhich to apply the force necessary to elevate the cover of the freezer.

In view of the value of the contents of a well-filled freezer, itfrequently becomes desirable to lock the cover in closed position inperiods in which the unit is not attended by responsible personnel. Oneof the most effective ways of doing this is to prevent the withdrawal ofthe bolt from the keeper. The use of a padlock serving to maintain theclosed position of the bolt is well known. A padlock, however, is arather cumbersome and unsightly article, and does not blend well intothe design configuration of the unit. Since it is a separate piece ofequipment, it usually requires some type of chain or other similararrangement to avoid its being accidentally misplaced, which furtheradds to the problem of maintaining a favorable appearance. The presentinvention provides an arrangement for performing the same function asthe padlock, but with a very simple and inexpensive device which is mucheasier to blend into the desired design contours. In the preferred formof the present invention, a locking member is slideably mounted on thekeeper for movement in a direction transverse to the withdrawal movementof the bolt. When the locking member is moved to locking position, abolt-engaging portion is positioned to intercept the bolt so as tomaintain it in engagement with the keeper. The positioning of thelocking member is preferably determined by a key-operated mechanism, andthe orientation of the sliding movement of the locking member in adirection transverse to the withdrawal movement of the bolt permits thekey-operated mechanism to be free of the actual locking forces involved.

The key-operated mechanism in this preferred form involves atumbler-controlled unit rotatably mounted in the locking member. Aprojecting portion on the tumbler unit is positioned eccentric to theaxis of the tumbler, and cooperates with a slot in the keeper disposedtransversely to the direction of movement of the locking member.Rotation of the tumbler unit will therefore drive the locking memberalong its path of sliding movement. A modified form of the presentinvention includes a tumbler unit mounted on an axis fixed with respectto the keeper.

In this arrangement, the locking member does not carry Patented Feb. 14,1956 the tumbler unit, but is merely driven by the eccentric mounted onthe tumbler assembly.

The several features of the present invention will be analysed in detailthrough a discussion of the particular embodiments illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. In these drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates a top view of a keeper, a locking mechanism, and aportion of a bolt, all shown in cooperating position.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the keeper and locking mechanism shown inFigure 1.

Figure 3 shows the same mechanism as is illustrated in Figure 2, butwith the locking system in the unlocked position.

Figure 4 is a section taken on the plane 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section taken on the plane 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a section taken on the plane 6-6 of Fig. ure 5.

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing installation of the lockingmechanism installed on a deep-freeze unit.

Figure 8 is a top view of a modified form of the present invention.

Figure 9 shows a side elevation of the device shown in Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a section taken on the plane 10-10 of Figure 9.

Referring to Figure 7, a cover 11 of a deep-freeze unit isconventionally hinged as indicated at 12 to the body portion 13 of adeep-freeze unit. It is also conventional to hold the cover down inclosed position through the action of a bolt assembly controlled by ahandle 14. Suitable keeper means are mounted on the body portion 13, andthe pivoting of the bolt assembly in its mounting bracket 15 results inmoving the bolt in a direction generally perpendicular to the face ofthe body portion 13 on which the keeper is mounted. Outward movement ofthe handle 14 pulls the engaging portion of the bolt out of positionwhere it cooperates with the keeper, and permits the cover 11 to beelevated. The positioning of the handle 14 as shown in Figure 7 providesa very convenient point against which the forces may be applied foropening the cover. With one movement, the latch may be disengaged andthe coveramoved to open position.

One modification of the mechanism for locking the latch system so as toprevent the cover 11 from being opened is shown in Figures 1 through 6.A bolt 16 is mounted on the arm 17 which is pivotally connected to thebracket 15 (shown in Figure 7). A keeper unit 18 is mounted on the bodyportion 13 by the screws 19 and 20, with the usual slotted arrangementin the keeper for receiving the screws to permit movement in a verticaldirection to secure the proper relationship between the surface 21 onthe keeper and the bolt 16. It is preferred that serrations as indicatedat 22 be provided at the point of engagement between the keeper unit 18and the mounting plate 23 to firmly maintain the adjusted position ofthe surface 21. The opening of the cover 11 must be preceded by amovement of the bolt 16 in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 4.To prevent such movement when desired, a locking member 24 is slideablymounted on the keeper 18, the sliding movement being in a verticaldirection in Figure 4. An upward move ment of the locking member willbring the bolt-engaging portion 25 into position where it intercepts theoutward movement of the bolt 16. It is preferred that the slidingengagement of the locking member 24 and the keeper 18 be establishedthrough a tongue-and-groove system as indicated in Figure 6. The tongues26 and 27 on the keeper 18 engage with corresponding grooves in thelocking member 24, and the forces necessary to maintain the bolt 16 inengagement with the keeper are thereby taken by this tongue-and-groovesystem rather than by the mechanism which positions the locking memberalong its path of movement.

This positioning function is provided through the key operated mechanismwhich includes the tumbler unit 28 which is rotatably mounted in thelocking member 24. The tumbler assembly is maintained in engagement withthe locking member through the action of a conventional member 29 havingradial movement in the tumbler assembly 28, and which engages a shoulderat the base of the recess 30 to maintain the assembly of the parts asshown. Operation of the key 31 will position the tumbler assembly so asto permit rotation thereof with respect to the locking member 24, andthereby move the eccentric 32 about the axis of the tumbler assembly.The eccentric 32 engages a set of spaced abutments provided by sides ofthe slot 33 in the keeper 18, and it will be noted that this slot isdisposed in a direction transverse to the sliding movement of thelocking member 24. Rotation of the tumbler 28 will therefore impartsimilar rotation to the eccentric 32, resulting in the movement of thelocking member 24 along the path of movement determined by thetongue-and-groove system indicated at 26 and 27 in Figure 6. Movementfrom the unlocked position shown in Figure 4 to the locked positionshown in Figure results from rotation of the key 31, and maintains thebolt 16 in engagement with the keeper 18. The keeper 18 and the lockingmember 24 are preferably of die-cast construction, and therefore areprovided with hollow interiors to minimize the amount of metal involvedin each unit.

Referring to Figures 8, 9, and 10, a modified form of the presentinvention is illustrated. The principal characteristics of thismodification over that indicated in the previous discussion is the factthat the key-operated mechanism is mounted on an axis which is fixedwith respect to the keeper. A slideable member is mounted in the keeperstructure, and is positioned by the tumbler assembly so as to serve thesame function as the locking member 24 of the previously-discussedmodification. A keeper unit 34 is provided with the bolt-engagingsurface 35 for cooperation with a bolt similar to that shown in theprevious figures. A locking member 36 is slideably mounted on the keeperunit 34, preferably with a tongue-and-groove system as illlstrated inFigure 10. The tongues 37 and 38 are preferably formed on the lockingmember 36, and cooperate with the grooves established by the baseportion of the keeper 34 and by the removable members 39 and 40 held inposition by screws as indicated respectively at 41 and 42. These screwsshould be inserted from the underside of the keeper in order to preventtheir removal from the outside. The keeper unit 34 is held in engagementwith a body portion of the freezer in a fashion similar to that of thekeeper 18. A tumbler unit 43 is provided with an eccentric 44 whichcooperates with a slot 45 in the locking member 36. Rotation of thetumbler assembly about its axis with the key 46 will result in movingthe locking member to and from a position to bar the removal of the boltfrom engagement with the keeper.

The particular embodiments of the present invention which have beenillustrated and discussed herein are for illustrative purposes only andare not to be considered as a limitation upon the scope of the appendedclaims. In these claims, it is my intent to claim the entire inventiondisclosed herein, except as I am limited by the prior art.

I claim:

1. A lock, comprising a keeper for receiving a bolt; :1 locking memberhaving a bolt-engaging portion, said member being mounted for movementwith respect to said keeper to and from a position preventing withdrawalof said bolt from said keeper; and means for positioning said member,said positioning means including an actuator rotatably mounted in saidmember and eccentric means mounted on said actuator, said eccentricmeans having cooperating engagement with spaced abutment means fixedwith respect to said keeper and disposed transversely to the directionof movement of said locking member.

2. A lock, comprising: a keeper for receiving a bolt; means forming aguideway fixed with respect to said keeper; a locking member slideablymounted in said guideway for movement to and from a position preventingwithdrawal of said bolt from said keeper; key-controlled positioningmeans for said locking member including a rotatable member mounted insaid locking member and having a projection at an end thereof eccentricto the axis of rotation of said rotatable member; and means formingopposite abutment surfaces fixed with respect to 'said keeper anddisposed transversely to the direction of movement of said lockingmember, said abutment surfaces being spaced to receive said eccentricprojection therebetween; and fastening means for mounting said keeper,said fastening means being disposed in positions covered by said lockingmember when in locking position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS606,948 Walsh July 5, 1898 849,269 Schaad Apr. 2, 1907 1,584,992Richards May 18, 1926 1,878,886 Paulton -a Sept. 20, 1932 2,107,056Kistner Feb. 1, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 14,079 Great Britain of 1896

